Sporting striker with 13 goals hails Abel Ferreira: the greatest | OneFootball

Derlei believes that Abel Ferreira is "the greatest foreign coach ever in Brazilian football." The former Sporting striker shared a locker room with the current Palmeiras coach at Alvalade and is impressed with the work of the Verdão leader.

"When Abel arrived at Palmeiras, the pressure was immense. Palmeiras is one of the biggest clubs in Brazil and was in search of titles. In his very first season, he managed to achieve the most important of all, which is the Libertadores," he told Record newspaper.

For the ex-Sporting player, the fact that Abel won the biggest trophy in his debut season – and could increase his tally – gave the coach the "peace of mind" needed to be able to transmit to the entire São Paulo squad "his style and way of playing at 100 percent."

"He brought value to the 'Palmeiras brand' by launching several young athletes into the world. This greatly enhanced the club, especially abroad, and made Abel considered today, not only in South America but worldwide, as one of the greatest coaches of today," he added.

Despite Abel's success, Derlei says the pioneer of Portuguese coaches in Brazil was another former Sporting player: "The one who really opened the door for Portuguese coaches was Jorge Jesus and the work he did at Flamengo. Abel continued that work and, as a result of the achievements, has made the doors of Brazilian football now completely open, not only to Portuguese coaches but to foreign coaches in general. It can be said that Abel is the greatest foreign coach currently working in Brazil, as all these achievements over the past five or six years at Palmeiras demonstrate. He is improving the level of the club, but also of Brazilian football itself. That’s why I believe he is the greatest foreign coach ever in Brazilian football."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.